Reply To: Session #1: Key Takeaways

[jasminerowens]

I am happy I listened to the podcast after the Derek Chavin verdict. I think Mariame Kaba had a very good outlook on criminal justice and the way in which our society has been dealing or not dealing with the execution of Black bodies. I found myself feeling blank after the verdict. I did not feel relief but instead exhausted when thinking about how systemic racism is. I started to think is this performative? Where do we go from here?, because my lived experience in being Black in America has not changed. Kaba’s discussion touched a lot on this and the importance of community voice in many of the policies and initiatives that have come up.

When reading the mass incarceration article, brought me into a space of thinking of my privilege and access compared to many of the people I grew up with and even my family members. I have been thinking a lot about access and what that means or looks like in terms of money, profession. and zip code. I appreciated the way the charts broke down the demographics of those who are currently system impacted. I would also like to uplift the myth section the article touched on and the importance of debunking false narratives within our justice system.